Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey (official website here) is a film about puppeteer Kevin Clash. Among other characters, Kevin is the voice and physical presence behind Elmo.
The film follows typical big-budget documentary protocol: background, character profile, inspirations, breakthroughs, interviews with various family members, friends, other constituents and a cameo or two (Whoopi!) the continued journey and the beginning of a new cycle with how Kevin's giving back and inspiring the next generation.
Of course the story was great, but I really liked learning about the art of puppetry. I really liked watching Kevin practice and coach other puppeteers. It's also interesting to watch how he 'creates' a character. And I'm not just talking about the part with needle and thread. The little nuances are amazing. Even watching them together on-stage for interviews or appearances...it really in like Elmo (or whatever character he's portraying) is alive. When all the attention is on the puppet, the attention really is on him/her/it. Kevin's focus is right there, his emotion is right there. Or focused on who the puppet is interacting with. And then the moments when Kevin and the puppet are interacting with one another. That's amazing too. It's so natural. And then when Kevin's in the spotlight, for example when Kevin's being asked a question in an interview, you can see that Elmo (or whoever) turns his attention to Kevin and listens as the audience does. Or even when Elmo's taking a break and not being manipulated as Kevin responds, I don't know if it's intentional or not, but Elmo just happens to look like he's sitting casually with his head leaning fondly on Kevin's chest or with his head cocked up so that he's looking in Kevin's direction. That interaction is amazing.
I had desperately hoped that there would be a Q&A for this film. Who doesn't love Elmo and how could you not be in awe of Kevin's talent and story? I watched a couple videos on the film's website and they are so wonderful. I wanted to see Elmo get tickled in person. Or give some sort of witty response to a question from the audience. Oh well, can't have them all.
It was a great film, again, because of the subject matter. I am, however, holding this film to higher standards. As a big budget film, I just expect more for some reason. Is that unfair? I mean, the film is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, so it kinds of sets it apart from many of the other films that are at Hot Docs. The amount of archive footage that was available and included was incredible. I'm glad it was included because it enriched the film, but again, different category. So that being said, it was a good film, but not amazing. It's an amazing story and they were able to express that in the film, but the subject matter is amazing on its own so I don't think that they needed a lot of help there.

- picture courtesy of www.beingelmo.com